so past few months ago I had to change my passenger side headlight cuz my sister got into an accident and caused it to scattered.. now it's changed to a depo headlight from the looks of it.(crystal clear)
Here's the problem. My driver side headlight is quite fogged up and definately not as clear as my new passenger side headlight. I was wondering if theres anyway I can clean it without using a buffer cause I dont have one and not looking forward to pay $100+ for one to use on one thing. Is there any liquid solutions I can use to clean it and make it depo kinda look so my headlights will match?? Thanks!
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2009 Matrix XR @ 2.4L
[Mods] Megan Coilovers Gen 1 on Gen 2 [SLAMMED], Custom front lip, Magnaflow 14818 exhaust with 2.25" custom straight pipe, XRS 09 FSB, TRD RSB, K&N Typhoon Intake, Ichiban 15mm Spacers, XRS 09 18" RIMS on BFGoodrich G-Force2
so past few months ago I had to change my passenger side headlight cuz my sister got into an accident and caused it to scattered.. now it's changed to a depo headlight from the looks of it.(crystal clear)
Here's the problem. My driver side headlight is quite fogged up and definately not as clear as my new passenger side headlight. I was wondering if theres anyway I can clean it without using a buffer cause I dont have one and not looking forward to pay $100+ for one to use on one thing. Is there any liquid solutions I can use to clean it and make it depo kinda look so my headlights will match?? Thanks!
Try a good polish with a microfiber first. You don't need to sand unless it's really trashed. Just focus on one spot and put a lot of elbow grease into it...if you make some progress, then you know it's doable. It's certainly worth trying!
I did a headlight that was pretty bad with polish only and it came out pretty good (and I captured it on video). Go to the following link and watch the 'Hazy Headlight Polishing' video in the speed that best suits you.
Get a Mothers PowerBall Mini and some plastic polish at Pep Boys, Wal-Mart, Murray's, Checker/Schuck's/Kragen or just about anywhere like that. Lift the hood and mask around the light with painter's tape.
If it's really oxidized, try using a heavy metal polish first.
Meguiars PlastX worked well for me. They had it at Wal Mart and at my local Advanced Auto Parts. Depending on the condition of the headlight though, it may not be possible to get it to the point that it matches the new one, especially if your new one is actually a clear DEPO. My Gen3 headlights cleaned up really nice, but they don't look as good as brand new OEMs, much less clear DEPOs. You may want to think about putting the miniball and polish money toward another new headlight so that you have a matched set. Don't know how fanatical you are about your car, but I've seen some cars with mismatched headlights that tend to look like they're winking at you ;-) I'd want them to match.
Well i haven't seen what it looks like for the outcome but it's pretty similar just one side a slight darker. I don't think im going to put money into another headlight... maybe just shine it up a little to at least look cleaner and a slight clearer. But thanks, I'll look into Meguiars PlastX. I always heard great things about Meguiars.
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2009 Matrix XR @ 2.4L
[Mods] Megan Coilovers Gen 1 on Gen 2 [SLAMMED], Custom front lip, Magnaflow 14818 exhaust with 2.25" custom straight pipe, XRS 09 FSB, TRD RSB, K&N Typhoon Intake, Ichiban 15mm Spacers, XRS 09 18" RIMS on BFGoodrich G-Force2
Well, it doesn't cost much to try the PlastX. It's like $6 at WalMart. You can easily apply it by hand too, so you could potentially save the initial cost of the miniball if you just wanted to try it by hand first. Expect to put some time and elbow grease into it though. I did 3 applications by hand on each headlight, and spent 5 to 10 minutes on each application, so I spent close to an hour total polishing both.
Well, it doesn't cost much to try the PlastX. It's like $6 at WalMart. You can easily apply it by hand too, so you could potentially save the initial cost of the miniball if you just wanted to try it by hand first. Expect to put some time and elbow grease into it though. I did 3 applications by hand on each headlight, and spent 5 to 10 minutes on each application, so I spent close to an hour total polishing both.
I agree...save your money on the ball. Try a small area by hand first and you will know pretty quickly if it's going to work or not.
what is this elbow grease your talking about? And without the miniball am I applying this on the outside of the headlight?
Yep, you gotta work it a bit.
And yes, outside of the headlight. If you have yellowing on the inside of the headlight(which you can) there have been DIY posts on how to bake your headlights open to clean them inside, then glue them back shut, but I personally would just spring for a new headlight at that point.
Good luck. Hope it turns out to where you're satisfied with the look.
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headlight cleaning problem
But thanks. I'll go pick up the stuff tomorrow and try it out the next day
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